Cardinal & Gold Gives Me The Blues » Brats & Beer

Posted on October 27, 2006

I’ve really been putting off writing anything about the ISU Cyclones because it just makes me damn depressed, but then I suppose that’s what this here bloggy thing is for. I just can’t believe how far this team has fallen and it doesn’t look like they are going to get back up.

I say all this in full recognition that the schedule this year was rough: Texas, then Nebraska, then Oklahoma. It’s tough to get a lot of wins against that trio no matter who you are. But it’s the other games that really have me concerned for the rest of the season.

The three non-conference games ISU has won, the only three games they have won, have all been closer than a touchdown. The Cyclones needed triple overtime to beat Toledo and they darn near lost to Northern Iowa. So I just have to laugh a little when I see that the ISU Daily is wondering if ISU will get a bowl bid this year. A bowl team does not slip past the Panthers. A bowl team probably beats Texas Tech. Iowa State is not a bowl team this year.

The Clones play Kansas State this Saturday, opening a three-game stretch against losing teams that includes Kansas and Colorado. To get a bowl bid, ISU would need to win all three, but that’s far from a lock: K-State has a conference win, Kansas was close in a loss to Nebraska, and Colorado nearly beat Georgia and overwhelmed Texas Tech. I’d be surprised if the Cyclones got one win out of this stretch, and that’s not pleasant for me to say.

The fact that this Iowa State team is not headed to a bowl is not good news for the travel agents in Ames and it’s not good news for coach McCarney. No question this has been the most successful era in Cyclone football history — though to be fair the bar of success was set horrifically low by McCarney’s predecessors — but at the same time the best ISU has finished is second in the Big 12 North. They have been also rans and almost beens a couple times but failed to capitalize on those opportunities. I think it is fair to say it might be time to start thinking about what the next era in ISU football is going to look like.

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